>> pelley: tonight, the meningitis outbreak is now a criminal case. with 23 dead, officials lay out alleged violations by the pharmacy blamed for tainted drugs. dr. jon lapook has the late- breaking story. sharyl attkisson has obtained e- on has obtainednight of the e-mails from the night of the attack on the u.s. ambassador in benghazi. what the obama administration knew and did not know. now it's a two-week sprint to a date wit >> our campaign is full speed ahead. >> i won't be running the okey- doke. >> pelley: reports from nancy cordes, jan crawford and debate moderator bob schieffer. and bill whitaker in los angeles with a program bringing kids from the chaos of the streets into harmony with the world. >> music is like my meditation. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley.

>> pelley: good evening. investigators say they could see with their naked eyes black specks of deadly fungus floating in viles of steroids due to be injected into patients across the country. late today authorities said a criminal investigation would be opened and they would move to revoke the license of new england compounding center. that's the pharmacy identified as the source of contaminated drugs that have caused a meningitis outbreak in at least 17 states. 300 people have come down with the disease, 23 have died, and federal officials say the outbreak is spreading. with this rapidly developing story, here's dr. jon lapook. >> reporter: the preliminary investigation has revealed a lack of basic laboratory standards at new england compounding center. today massachusetts state investigators found that n.e.c.c. had dirty floor mats and a leaky boiler, did not

properly test lab equipment, did not adequately sterilize medications, and shipped drugs before they were tested for contamination. dr. madeline biondolillo is leading the investigation for the department of health. >> on 13 occasions n.e.c.c. staff shipped orders from the suspect lots before receiving their own test results confirming that those lots were sterile. >> reporter: officials also claimed the company broke state law by shipping their products in bulk without valid prescriptions. compounding pharmacies must have a prescription for every patient for each dose they send out. more than 17,000 vials of the suspect steroid went to clinics in 23 states. documents released yesterday show that complaints against n.e.c.c. for lack of individual prescriptions date back to 1999. n.e.c.c. co-owner barry cadden told the state pharmacy board in 2004 that his company would abide by the law. that "each and every compounded medication shall be filled based on a valid prescription written

by a qualified physician for a specific patient." the state and the f.d.a. made a joint inspection of the facility in 2004. sheldon bradshaw was the f.d.a.'s chief council. >> typically the f.d.a. would go back in and reinspect. here it appears that the f.d.a. simply relied upon new england compounding center's word that they had corrected the problems. >> reporter: in 2006, n.e.c.c. pledged 20 upgrade its quality assurance procedures as part of a legal agreement with the state. we called the n.e.c.c. after today's charges and they responded by saying the state health board "had numerous opportunities, including as recently as last summer, to make firsthand observations of the n.e.c.c.'s facilities and operations. it's hard to imagine that the board has not been fully apprised of the manner and scale of the company's operations." >> pelley: john, are they saying the state of massachusetts should have caught them. >> i think what they're saying is back in may of 2011 there was an inspection on site and n.e.c.c. passed the inspection.

scott, one of the problems is there are no routine inspections of compound pharmacies like this in massachusetts basically they wait for a complaint like this. >> pelley: jon, thanks very much. it was six weeks ago today that terrorists attacked the u.s. consulate in benghazi, libya. now we've obtained e-mail alerts that were put out by the state department as the attack unfolded. as you know, four americans were killed, including ambassador christopher stevens. sharyl attkisson has our story. >> reporter: the e-mails contain the earliest descriptions so far of what happened at benghazi the night of the attack. at 4:05 p.m. eastern time on september 11 an alert from the state department operations center was issued to a number of government and intelligence agencies. including were the white house situation room, the office of the director of national intelligence and the f.b.i. u.s. diplomatic mission in benghazi under attack. approximately 20 armed people fired shots, explosions have been heard as well. ambassador stevens who is currently in benghazi and four

chief of mission personnel are in the compound safe haven. at 4:54, less than an hour later, another alert "the firing in benghazi has stopped, a response team is on site attempting to locate chief of mission personnel." then at 6:07, state sent out another alert saying the embassy in tripoli reported the islamic military group ansar al-sharia claims responsibility for benghazi attack on facebook and twitter and has called for an attack on embassy tripoli. the e-mails are just a few in what is likely a large number traded throughout the night and they're likely to become part of the ongoing political debate over whether the administration attempted to mislead in saying the assault was an outgrowth of a protest rather than a planned attack by terrorists. 14 hours after the attack, president obama sat down with steve kroft of "60 minutes" for a previously scheduled interview

and said he did not believe it was simply due to mob violence. >> you're right that this is not a situation that was exactly the same as what happened in egypt. and my suspicion is that there are folks involved in this who were looking to target americans from the start. >> reporter: the white house and state department declined comment on the e-mail alerts. the house oversight committee, scott, told us the information in the e-mails will be part of their on going investigation into the benghazi attack. >> pelley: sharyl, thank you. the consulate attack was barely mentioned last night at the foreign policy debate between president obama and mitt romney. we asked 500 uncommitted voters whom they believe won. they chose the president 53% to 23%. 24% said it was a tie. with the election just two weeks from today the race moves into its final sprint and we have reports tonight from our campaign 2012 team. first, nancy cordes covering the president. nancy? >> scott, the president signaled his closing arguments today.

he's going to argue for the next two weeks that the most important issue in this campaign isn't foreign policy, it isn't even the economy, it's trust and that only one candidate has earned it. >> the person who leads this country, you've got to have some confidence that he or she means what he or she says. >> reporter: in delray beach, florida, the president argued governor romney has hidden his true positions for political gain. >> you know what? that's not leadership that you can trust. and, florida, you know me. ( cheers and applause ) you can trust that i say what i mean. >> reporter: the president has been expressing not just disagreement but disgust with romney's policies, calling them reckless. >> every time you've offered an opinion you've been wrong. >> reporter: in last night's debate, president obama stayed relentlessly on offense, even when romney praised some of his foreign policy moves. >> governor romney, i'm glad that you agreed that we have

been successful in going after al qaeda, but i have to tell you that your strategy previously has been one that has been all over the map. >> reporter: but the obama camp has clearly been stung by romney's repeated claim that mr. obama has no agenda for a second term. today, the campaign released this 20-page plan outlining the president's goals on manufacturing, energy, and education. it will get slipped under the doors of more than three million voters in battleground states. >> my plan will actually move america forward. it's not just a sales job. it's not a sketchy deal. it's not the okey-doke. >> reporter: republicans claim that the president's aggressive strategy is a sign that he's nervous about this race two weeks out. but democrats say that they feel very comfortable about their position right now and point out that they are essentially tied or ahead in just about every one

of those nine battleground states, scott, that's going decide this election. >> pelley: of course, nancy, romney is showing strength in a couple of battleground states, particularly florida and north carolina. jan crawford is with the governor tonight. >> reporter: romney advisors tell me he's going to keep his message focused on jobs and the economy. that has been the cornerstone of his campaign from the very beginning and it's the issue voters say they care about the most. >> we'll cut taxes on the middle-class, we'll cut taxes for small business. we're going to make it easier for businesses to grow. >> reporter: today in nevada, romney hammered the issue he will target over the next two weeks as he tries to win over undecided and independent voters. >> four more years like the last four years would continue to have a president playing hide and seek trying to find a plan to get the economy going and to create jobs. >> reporter: with polls showing the race tightening, the campaign sees an opening. as mr. obama goes on the offensive, romney has made a strategic decision to go above the fray, a tactic the campaign

believes will resonate with the uncommitted voters. he used that strategy in last night's foreign policy debate. >> and attacking me is not an agenda. and attacking me is not talking about how we'll deal with the challenges of the middle east and take advantages of the opportunity there and stem the tide of this violence. >> reporter: again today in nevada. >> we can handle two more weeks of the attacks coming from barack obama but we can not handle four more years of what he's given us. ( cheers and applause ) >> reporter: romney advisors tell me he has a big speech on jobs planned this week, probably thursday in ohio and he's going to argue that voters have a clear choice between his policy proposals and four more years of the same ideas he says haven't worked. jan crawford, cbs news, henderson, nevada. >> pelley: 53 million americans watched that debate last night moderated by our chief washington correspondent bob schieffer who joins us this evening.

bob, where's all this headed? >> well, i tell you, it's headed to a very close election, scott. my take away from the debate last night was you've got a clear understanding of where both of these candidates-- especially governor romney-- thinks this race is going to be run... going to be won, and that is, it's going to be on the economy. governor romney used every opportunity every question. we started out asking about libya. not much was said there. it kept going back to the economy and economic issues. so i think that's where they think this is going to be won and lost. i think the other takeaway is and what to look for down the road they're going to go all out now and they're going to have to. this thing is very, very close. it is so close we may wind up seeing one candidate win the popular vote, another win the

electoral vote. it could wind up in an electoral vote tie which would be a total can of worms and a nightmare. who's going to win this thing? i think that's still to be decided. the only thing that i would bet money on right now is this is not going to be a year when any candidate wins in a landslide. it's going to be this close. >> pelley: bob, thanks, and well done last night. on wall street today stocks were down again. the dow plunged 243 points today to close at 13,102. we asked anthony mason why investors are unloading stock. >> reporter: the sell-off started after chemical giant dupont said business was slowing and announced 1,500 layoffs. in recent days i.b.m., u.p.s. and mcdonald's have also issued disappointing earnings. in fact, nearly two-thirds of companies, 63%, have missed

analyst expectations. >> the outlook moving forward seems to be a lot slower than everyone wants and where everyone was expecting. >> reporter: trader jonathan corpina with meridian equity partners says another set of numbers has wall street worried, the polling numbers which show the presidential race still a dead heat. >> who's going to be in office? there's no indication as of this morning where that that's going to be. so that adds to another ingredient in the uncertainty pot. >> reporter: the recession in europe is cutting into business for many american companies. how much of an impact is it going to have on the overall economy? we'll know more friday when the government reports on the economy's growth rate, scott. >> pelley: anthony, thanks very much. the candidates clashed over military spending at the debate and we're going to have a look at their plans. a new hurricane may be forming. how close will it come to the u.s.? and a shark kills a surfer off the coast of california when the "cbs evening news" continues.

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parts of the aircraft carrier u.s.s. "gerald ford" due for launch in 2015. do you vote based on defense spending? >> i vote based on what i think is best for the country. >> reporter: but is defense spending up there? >> sure. it's what i do for a living. >> reporter: the president has already cut projected pentagon spending by $487 billion over ten years and will keep actual spending flat. that's still enough, he says, to keep the military the strongest on earth. >> we spend more on our military than the next ten countries combined-- china, russia, france, united kingdom, you name it, next ten. >> reporter: but romney proposes a buildup of ground forces, air forces, and the navy. he would build 15 new warships every year compared to the president's nine and increase defense spending by more than $2 trillion over ten years according to independent estimates.

>> so we have to make decisions based upon uncertainty and that means a strong military. i will not cut our military budget. >> reporter: last night, romney's claim that the navy is too small and the president's response was a clear snapshot of their differences. >> our navy is smaller now than any time since 1917. >> you mentioned the navy, for example and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. well, governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets because the nature of our military has changed. >> this is a c&c computerized press brake. >> reporter: but what worries george hill is the more immediate threat of automatic defense cuts scheduled in january unless congress reaches a new agreement by the end of the year, spending cuts built into the 2011 budget deal could cost the military $500 billion. >> it's the livelihood of our people. >> reporter: george hill says both sides are playing politics with defense. >> i blame them for not agreeing to agree with each other. >> reporter: you blame both parties?

>> yes. >> reporter: tell me why. >> because i think grown people should be able to sit down and work out compromises. >> reporter: last night, the president dismissed the very idea that these automatic budget cuts will ever happen, but, scott, here in virginia, a swing state where the defense budget is itself a major industry, voters inclined to track defense spending have a clear choice. >> pelley: wyatt andrews at the pentagon. wyatt, thank you very much. apple made a much-anticipated announcement today and we'll have it for you just ahead.

>> pelley: tropical storm sandy is in the caribbean and it's threatening to become a hurricane by tomorrow. the storm is expected to move north toward jamaica where hurricane warnings are up already. the track indicates sandy could approach florida's east coast this week wednesday strong winds and high seas. a shark killed a surfer today off southern california. the 38-year-old victim was in the pacific ocean off vandenberg air force base. he was surfing with a friend who witnessed the attack and pulled him to shore. they tried to save him on the beach but the surfer was pronounced dead at the scene. there's no word on what kind of shark it was. it's news when apple launches a new product and today it showed off its new ipad mini. it's about a third smaller than the full-sized ipad and it's meant to compete with tablets sold by amazon and google but at $329 it's more expensive than wall street expected.

apple's stock price fell more than 3% today. music may be saving the lives of children at risk. we'll have their story next. next. wait! you relieve nasal congestion? tylenol: sure. don't you? tylenol (another bottle): hmmm...no... nyquil (stuffy): dude! anncr vo: tylenol cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion... nyquil cold & flu doesn't. when we got married. i had three kids. and she became the full time mother of three. it was soccer, and ballet, and cheerleading, and baseball. those years were crazy. so, as we go into this next phase, you know, a big part of it for us is that there isn't anything on the schedule.

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we end tonight with the amazing power of music. it can soothe the soul. it can raise the spirit. and as bill whittaker shows us, music has the power to lift a life out of poverty. ♪ [ music ] >> i love music. i just feel my heartbeat. >> reporter: when you look at the hurdles facing 16-year-old scotty way, you might see another grim statistic, poor. his mother, cheryl, is on welfare to work from inner city l.a. but don't just look. listen. ♪ [ music ] >> music is beautiful. it's been here with me through all my troubles. music is like my homey, my friend. we can just talk. i mean, it's like, he'll talk and i'll listen. >> reporter: he began his conversation with music at 5, when his mother saw a flyer for free violin lessons. that led them to the harmony project, a program in l.a.'s most troubled neighborhoods, that puts instruments in these hands before the rampant gang culture puts a gun in them.

>> it's been difficult for us as a family to can of survive -- to kind of survive sometimes. >> reporter: cheryl came to hollywood seeking fame. after seven children and a failed marriage, all she found was hard times. >> i think we've moved maybe about 28 times. >> reporter: 28 times. >> mm-hm. we've actually slept one time at the office at harmony project. >> reporter: through all of that, he held on to his music. >> this was the one constant thing in life. >> reporter: it's not about being a virtuoso. he finds virtue in music. >> music is like my meditation. music has just opened up my eyes. it disciplines me. >> i just think it's been this thread throughout his entire life. >> reporter: myka miller is director of harmony project and scotty's teacher. the charity started with 36 students. now it has 1500, a waiting list of 900. almost all these kids go on to college.

>> music is the vehicle that we use to transform kids to get them through school, to get them to go to college, to teach them to be role models. they become mentors to younger students. >> reporter: scotty plans to be a teacher or a marine biologist, or an international businessman. >> i can do it. i know i can do it. >> reporter: he learned that conversing with music. bill whitaker, cbs news, los angeles. >> and that's the "cbs evening news" for tonight. for all of us at cbs news all around the world, good night. captions by: caption colorado comments@captioncolorado.com >> your realtime captioner: linda marie macdonald good evening, i'm allen martin. >> i'm dana king. get your orange gear out and your vocal chords ready because the world series gets ready in

less than 24 hours. tonight the san francisco giants getting ready to host the tigers in game one. bay area sports stores are trying to keep up in demand. fresh off the printing press, shirts and hats flying off the shelves after the giants storm into the world series. >> scutaro! the giants have won the pennant. >> reporter: the players soaked by nature and champagne. now dried off and gearing up for game 1 against the tigers. they swept the yankees. that tells you how good they are. >> reporter: giants fever is everywhere. pride in the bay area and beyond. >> this is like my country, you know? this is like -- >> okay. get this. the giants and tigers boast a combined total of 9 players from venezuela. cbs 5 reporter joe vazquez tells us t